Batavia getting new restaurant

It's good news to hear that Jon With is planning to open a new restaurant in the space formerly occupied by Ona's on the Avenue. With isn't just a restaurant owner, he is a restaurateur who believes in supporting the community. His comfort food restaurant, Gammon Coach House, isn't even open, yet he is already talking about supporting Batavia's United Way and other community organizations.

Relic art show: Dawn Zalkus, Batavia High School art teacher, contacted me about Relic, the BHS Alumni Art Show. This art show will be showcased during the rededication ceremony planned Oct. 9 at the new Batavia Fine Arts Centre.#8220;We'd like to get a wide range of practicing artist alumni,#8221; she added.Digital submissions are due Sept. 1 and information about this process can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/bhsrelic/.See you at the corn boil: Plan now to attend the Batavia Sports Boosters Corn Boil on Friday, Aug. 19. The annual community event is a fun way to meet up with your friends and neighbors at the high school for some delicious corn and brats. I am always amazed at the dedication of the men and women who work the food area sweating over the hot grills.#8220;I worked the grills for years and it was always a lot of fun,'#8221; said Dick Brunton, former sports booster president. #8220;The corn boil is really one big welcome back party for the community.#8221;The party takes place at the north end of the football stadium (Wilson Street side), from 4 to 7:30 p.m. It costs $7 for adults, $6 for students and $4 for people 65 and older.Batavia flash mob: In between training for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, Laurel Flinn has been busy planning a never-been-done-before-in-Batavia event to benefit STAGE, the organization that supports Batavia High School theater. #8220;It will be Batavia's first flash mob,#8221; she said. #8220;I think it will really be a fun event.#8221;According to wikihow.com, #8220;a flash mob is an organized routine of a group of performers working together on a large scale within the everyday usual public environment to surprise, entertain, and amuse the general public for a temporary period of time with a spontaneous performance. Flash mobs are usually about a brief dance but other types of performance might be used as well, such as song, a short performance, or even record-breaking attempts.#8221;Flinn is seeking flash mob participants to meet from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 20 at Clark Island, 401 S. River St. The cost is $10 and the first 50 participants will receive a T-shirt.#8220;We have two former BHS students #8212; Sarah Bombard and Katie Wyeth #8212; who have pursued dance in college who will be teaching the dance,#8221; Flinn said. Will it be an easy dance to learn?#8220;I told both of the girls to choreograph a dance that would be easy enough for someone like me and I am not a dancer,#8221; Flinn said.The flash mob participants will learn the dance and be notified at a later date where to report for the actual performance.My younger son put a flash mob together at the University of Wisconsin in Madison to promote the university's All Campus Party. My former college roommate who works as a music director at a Catholic parish in Connecticut had her choir do one at Christmas in the produce department of her local grocery store. Both reported that it was as much fun for those who participated as it was for those who observed. Why not give it a try?Get ready. You never know when someone might break into song and dance at a community event.